Homeschooling now? Few thoughts to educate child at home..

After a long vacation, I made up my mind to start homeschooling my child. I just want to put down few thoughts to educate the child at home. This would give me some direction and may benefit other parents as well. We don't have textbooks as of now. So, I am teaching her in general taking one concept at a time. 

Well, homeschooling can be a difficult task if the child is unwilling to learn from the parent. It happened with me on day-one. My seven-year-old daughter was reluctant to take pen and paper in hand. Like any other parent, I had to put forth my conditions. I told her I will not bake her favorite cake again...!

 

After few more arguments, she was ready to sit with me for 15(!) minutes.

 

Your child can be an obedient student at school willing to listen to her teacher, but at home, things can be different. After all, with the persistent efforts, child will cooperate with you for homeschooling. 

I have divided the learning in four parts as of now. Languages, Maths, Science and IT. On languages front, I asked her to write five-ten words as dictation. The words are most likely to be difficult to spell. Then she reads any story in any language and I ask her to tell me the same story. To keep her interest alive, I ask her questions and provide my critical comments on the story. This is in addition to 1-1.5 hours of bedtime reading she does. So, this is sufficient to hone language skills. As of now, I am not bothered about grammar. I guess, she will pick up grammar Basics from Reading. 

          You may check this tip to motivate child to read... 

I have taught her basic mental Maths. She can do oral calculations of 2 digit numbers fairly well. So, I give her 5-10 problems to solve which she does fairly quick. I taught her division as a New Concept by explaining real life scenarios. But to carry out division on paper took some time.

 

We have practiced tables during summer vacations and will continue to do so as per time availability. Check out here how to teach tables differently.

For seven-year-old minimum skill is to carry out arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. I plan to take measurements and fraction activities as well. 

Buying science books and carrying out science experiments together will be in line. This needs some time. One science experiment per week should suffice. Discussions would follow post experiment. 

I want to teach my kid digital painting this year. This would be fun I guess. Typing practice with letter writing, poem writing can be done. Video editing skills can be an icing on top. 

Homeschooling may not take much efforts. But it is certainly not easy. Making sure to sit with the kid putting in front challenges may work. Well, ultimately we all want our children to be self-sufficient grown-ups after few years. To have various skill sets in addition to strong base would help them. 

These are some of my thoughts on homeschooling. As per age group the tricks may vary, but the Baseline would be same. Hope these homeschooling thoughts would help you as well to educate your child at home.if you have some inputs.. Do share through a comment. 

Happy Homeschooling!

Image by free stock photos from www.picjumbo.com from Pixabay 

#homeschooling #homeschoolingmom #homeschoolingindia 

#homeschoolingmommy #homeschoolinginindia 

#homeschoolindia #parentingtips #parenting 

#parentingcoach #parentingadvice #parentinghacks 

#parentingwin #educationathome #educationfirst 

#educational

Early Reader Book sets for Preschoolers - A Guide

Is your child an early reader? 

Feed his hunger with these early reader book-sets meant especially for preschoolers.  Reading fluently may not need much time if lots of small books are made available to little ones. Of course, encouragement to read is always required. 

Early reader book sets solve the purpose of teaching children to read on their own. They also help to inculcate reading habits.  

"Today a reader, tomorrow a leader" 

So, you may consider looking at this list of early reader book sets for preschoolers and buy any one of these sets.

1) Read it yourself with Ladybird :

These books are easy to read. It is a collection of 50 books with famous tales. Most of the classic stories like Snow White and seven dwarfs, Pinocchio, Little Red Riding hood, Hansel and Gretel, Thumbelina, etc are covered. Books are categorized as per reading levels 1 to 4. You may buy book sets as per reading level or can buy an entire set of 50 books. This early reader book set is the best for preschoolers and he or she can read the stories again and again and again. These are picture books with eye-catching pictures and print quality is also great.

2) Usborne book set:

Usborne is also a good publisher of children's books. The book set is similar to the one described above. Few titles may differ, but the concept is the same  - Phonetically based books suitable for early readers, classic stories covered. Usborne has various kinds of book sets for different age groups. Please make sure to buy the early reader set.

3) Pratham Book Set

Pratham is an NGO that works throughout India in the Education Sector. Pratham Books is a venture which publishes easy to read books for children in English as well as regional languages. The stories of the books have an Indian background. Naturally, Indian children can relate to the stories. 

They have book sets for schools as well. A hanging library can decorate the classroom. Ever wondered to donate the books to your own school or any other school?  You may opt for Pratham books. 

They also have an online platform called 'StoryWeaver' where children can read books for free.

https://store.prathambooks.org/productCategory?STORY_BOOKS

4) Bob Books

If you want to teach children to read phonetically categorized words, Bob books cover most of the phonics list of words. Short Vowels, Long Vowels, Sight words, and other word families are covered in different book sets. These are board books that are useful for children to learn reading.  Bob books are expensive. You may opt to purchase locally available phonics activity books for children to practice reading.

5) Peppa Pig Library:

Peppa Pig is a beloved character among households today. Peppa Pig captures the attention of little ones very well. The storylines of the Peppa series are great.  You may buy books from Peppa Pig Library set. Easy to read, great quality, amazing pictures..your little one would surely love these.

6) I Can Read

I Can Read is also a good collection of stories. The books are categorized as per reading levels. These books are slightly expensive as compared to other book sets. But if your little one has devoured the above book sets, you may consider buying these books.

I hope your preschooler would like these early reader book sets and start reading with pleasure!  

“You may have tangible wealth untold;

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be—

I had a Mother who read to me.” –  Strickland Gilliland

Gift your child pleasure of reading by investing in early reader book sets. These are perfect gifts for preschoolers!

                                                                                                    Image by Comfreak from Pixabay 

Education, Learning and Skills - How can we define learning process?

There are three things related to the learning process: Education, Learning, and Skills. Here are a few perspectives on these terms..

Education in itself has got two values: Intrinsic and Extrinsic

Intrinsic value deals with the pleasure of learning, knowing, and understanding. The process of getting educated in a certain field brings joy. So this intrinsic value gets attached to the education.

Extrinsic value means the utility value. As the person gets educated, he gains certain skills, he can use the education to do something worthwhile which is useful to him or the society at large. Utilizing one’s education to earn a living also attaches the utility value to the education.

The primary aim of the teacher should be to make students feel the joy of learning. Unfolding the subject, showing the intricacies, and arousing curiosity to know more are the ways to facilitate learning. ‘Curiosity’ is the word which is very much essential to make student life long learner. How do you make students curious? Asking right sort of questions! Not giving them answers, but make them find the answers…

An ability to ask right questions is the most unique gift you can provide to a child. This will make him problem solver as well. Problem-solving, logical analysis, critical thinking are the most sought after skills in job market. So how do you develop these skills in students? Asking questions, encouraging to find answers, and also inspiring to ask right sort of questions!

Developing small projects and asking them to formulate their strategies to execute the project is one of the ways to make children curious about solving real-time problems. Recurrent projects execution will make them prepared for 21st-century work assignments. It will also make them confident about their abilities. But project execution is not the job of parents as it is the case in many schools nowadays. It is obvious that the current age level of the students must be taken into consideration to design the projects.

There are certain basic skills which a person can possess in order to be successful in his life. Reading skills, writing skills, speaking skills, arithmetic skills , IT skills. We will take a look at them one by one.

Every student should strive to get the ability to read better and comprehend the text. Reading extensively is the only way to gain this skill. So reading sessions are very much important in the school calendar. After reading, students can be asked to summarize the text. This way they will pay attention to comprehension. Having access to good books in the library, encouraging the students to read apart from textbooks is necessary.

An ability to write our own thoughts precisely is a skill. Students can gain this skill only through practice. Assignments on writing about various subjects,project reports, essays, emails/letters, travelogues, daily diary can be formulated. Writing using keywords for search engine optimization can also be encouraged as a 21st-century skill. Most futile exercise that a teacher can do is to dictate the answers of questions to students and students filling pages of the notebooks. In this whole exercise, the student fails to put answers in his own words by knowing the subject. The student tries to remember the answer by rot memory and after the examination is over he forgets the answer.

To communicate one’s thought verbally in cohesive manner is an ability which is of prime importance. Few people are blessed with good speaking skills, while others need to work at it. So topics discussion, elocution,conducting various kinds of meetings, encouraging presentation of projects can be the ways to enhance speaking skills.

Basic arithmetic skills seem difficult to many. But right teacher can make it easy. There are many activities which can be taken up to provide basic skills in Arithmetic. When 1st standard student solves the question of addition on fingers, the teacher can devise ways to make him do mental calculations. This can be done by unfolding the beauty of numbers. Students fear Mathematics at early age when they fail to do simple arithmetic operations. This subject is very vast in itself on how students can be made at ease with arithmetic. It’s just question of techniques to arouse the interest in the subject. Arithmetic is beauty in itself. Once students start to understand this beauty, they will not look back.

This is an information technology age. Right sort of exposure to technology is a must for students. So basic IT skills like making word documents, preparing powerpoint presentations, knowing excel functions and preparing excel sheets are the basic skills which students may acquire. Writing assignments can be aligned with documenting on Word. Various real-time problems can be designed to know functions of excels. Presentations on the report can be prepared on powerpoint. So IT skills need not be taught isolated, they can be incorporated in other teachings.

In foreign countries, coding with various IT languages is taught at early age. So, it is the job of IT teacher to read on the subject and learn how to teach coding which can be a different kind of fun for the kids and will also help in developing logical and analytical skills.

Right sort of emphasis on skills and knowledge can make the experience of education worthwhile. Self learning has immense power. So the job of teacher may not be to teach every little thing to students. Reading, thinking, questioning, practicing can help the student gain knowledge on his own. The teacher’s job is to facilitate learning! And anyway student will learn the things in which he is really interested... rest he is bound to forget!

Apart from skills and knowledge, another important aspect of getting educated is to be empathetic, compassionate, caring human being. The essence of education is to reach a point to know ourselves better. It also means to understand the environment and the world we live in and being grateful towards it. Unfortunately, the current education system is involved in developing self-centered humans who have little regard for the environment or the problems faced by others. Few initiatives are needed by the education system to change this scenario. It could be an exposure to real life case studies of people who have made a difference...

At the end, J Krishnamurti has put forth very essence of education:

"You have to be educated so that you become a really beautiful, healthy, sane, rational human being, not a brutal man with a very clever brain, who can argue and defend his brutality"

Education, Learning and Skills are all interlinked things. Let's equip our children to face the challenges of 21st century with good learning process without burdens. 

Teaching tables differently

I tried to teach tables differently to my daughter. 

When you do something differently, be prepared to get suggestions and questions.. 

"You should teach her tables in Marathi.."

My husband aggressively suggested to me while I was teaching my daughter 3's table.
I replied with another aggression, "Remembering tables in Marathi is difficult for her as she doesn't remember numbers in Marathi. And anyway, two things will remain two even if we call it दोन, दो, Twe or Two. "

I always say reading and writing Marathi/Hindi is very simple if we compare it to English. The only thing is the number of alphabets to remember is more in Marathi/Hindi. But once you remember all the alphabets it is very easy to read. And one writes the same thing as he speaks.

But when it comes to numbers I would prefer English. If you know the numbers from one to twenty and then, thirty, forty, fifty etc.. further number counting is very easy with twenty-one, twenty-two or thirty-one, thirty-two, etc. Same is not the case with Marathi/Hindi where each number pronunciation is different. 

So, I stressed upon teaching 'two one za two'. By the way, I googled what is this 'za' thing all about as I learned all the tables in Marathi. Basically, it is 'Two Ones are Two',  Two Twos are Four' ;-)

"You are teaching her table very absurdly."

Another remark bumped my ears. I neglected it by saying I know what I am doing.
Basically, I was teaching her beauty in 3's table. I told her to remember three numbers 3,6 and 9. To get the next three numbers, we need to subtract 1 from each number and make an equivalent number in 10's column. So, we have 12,15 and 18. The next three numbers will arrive at by subtracting 1 again and joining with equivalent numbers in 20's column.(21,24,27). 

So, I asked her to say the numbers this way. (3,6,9)- (12,15,18)-(21,24,27)-30. The result was that she remembered all the numbers. Then we joined with Three One za Three and Three Two Za Six, Three three za nine. She knew answers of all multiplications, so she could recite till Three Ten za Thirty without any further help. Within 5 minutes, she started chanting three's table very well.

She was so excited about the whole process, that she asked me if she can learn 4's table too! I asked her abruptly Three Eight Za?? 

Obviously she had to recite the entire table to tell the answer. I told her the day you will tell me the answers to such questions about 3's table instantly,  you will be ready for the next table ;-)

In order to teach a table this way, she has to develop number sense. I never taught her counting. Thanks to her wonderful teachers from preschool, she gained number sense. 
While teaching two's table, I asked her to say all the even numbers 2,4,6,8,10,12,14, etc. Because of number sense, she could say 12,14,16... after 10 and 22,24,26... after 20, etc. So, we just joined two one za two, two two za four. The result was that she started saying 2*11=22, 2*12= 24... which will help her to wonder at arithmetic beauty while learning further tables.

Most children learn skip counting with 5  i.e. 5,10,15,20 which is easy by all means. So 5's table was very easy to teach. Number 10 cannot stand apart from 5 in this case.

So, this was my table story as of now.

Anyway, I am wondering how should I teach her the table of 7?

If you know other ways to teach tables differently, please let me know! 

My English Literature Journey

   

Year 2017…  This was the third year since I was at home watching my little baby grow. Like any other new-age woman, I was caught up in the stay-at-home vs working mom struggle. But, I was at peace spending time with my daughter and her little friends who would be around me throughout the day. But I felt the need to utilize my time for the things which I love.

I decided to enroll for the MA English Literature distance education course from IGNOU. Well, I am a faithful reader of Marathi Literature and I prefer Marathi books over English. Being a Marathi Medium student, I was not introduced to English Literature. I used to read English bestsellers or referred to English books by friends. So I thought of taking up the study of English literature. Why enrollment for a degree course? I thought I would get a better study guide and another post-graduate degree which may or may not benefit me in the future.

I received a large bundle of study material from IGNOU. There were four subjects for 1st year. British Poetry, British Drama, British Novels and Aspects of Language. The syllabus was huge. I preferred to study just two subjects in the first year. The best thing about IGNOU is that it gives you all the flexibility to study on your own. 

I started with British Poetry. Chaucer, Spenser, Milton gave me the largest trouble. Difficult to comprehend words, hard to know references from Christianity, Greek Mythology, European history. I used to sit up with poems spending hours to comprehend and reach the meaning of what they wanted to say. I started doubting my own resolve to study English literature. But when I reread the Chaucer, Spenser and Milton, I was glad I was able to appreciate their poems. I loved Metaphysical poetry which somewhat freed the poetry from clutches of religion. I loved Donne and his poem ‘Flea’ is one of my favorite poems. Studying the Romantic period of English literature was an absolute pleasure. Blake, Wordsworth and Coleridge became dear to me. I read their poems again and again and again. (I cursed myself for not building up good vocabulary though. I had to look up into the dictionary to get the meaning several times. Thanks to vocabulary apps nowadays the meaning of the words was just one click away.) I wrote an essay on Wordsworth's long poem - Prelude as a part of the assignment and was glad to score well.  (89/100 ;-)) Modernists and postmodernists poets like Philips Larkin, Yeats gave me the feeling that I made the right decision to read English literature. I adore Philip Larkin. His simplistic attitude towards life and presenting mundane things in life with fresh perspectives is remarkable. His poems Toads and Toads Revisited are true representatives of our day to day existence. I disliked Sylvia Plath the most. Her poems were extremely pessimistic. In real life, she had suicidal tendencies and ended her life with suicide. 

Journey through British poetry was a pleasant experience. British poetry gave me the ability to appreciate poetry. It unfolded life before me through various angles. Poetry is an art and the poet is an artist who presents an art.  This art is sometimes incomprehensible, sometimes vivid. Sometimes it brightens the day, but sometimes it makes it dull. Rich imagery in poetry makes the life of the reader richer.

Another subject which I studied in the first year was Aspects of Language. The study material for this subject from IGNOU is worse. I had a very difficult time while reading this subject. Ultimately I browsed the topics on the internet and somehow managed to get a little grasp on the subject. Broadly, this was related to how languages came into existence, how words are formed, how English vocabulary was enriched with words from different languages, how English was spread in different parts of the world, how different Englishes like British English, American English, Canadian English,  Indian English, Australian English, etc came into existence, how these Englishes are different from each other, what is bilingualism and multilingualism, how a person becomes bilingual, what is code-mixing and code-switching, how English education was spread in India during the British era, etc. One of the greatest learnings I learned from Aspects of Language is that no language is standard or non-standard. Textbooks make the language usage standard. People may speak in different accents, with different varieties of the language. Language is just a means to communicate thoughts and feelings. So if someone feels a lack of confidence for not being able to speak English, he should definitely not feel so. Be proud of the language you speak.        

In the second year (2018) I was in Europe. I didn't have the study material. I was reading English classics from the Library, sometimes clueless about what to read. I came across the PG Wodehouse section. I loved Jeeves and his mischievous little acts. A great pleasure to read Wodehouse! P L Deshpande used to keep PG's books on his table. PL and PG both are immortals.

I made a list of books from the syllabus of British Novels and British Drama. I started to search for the books in the Belgium library. Luckily, I got most of them. Tom Jones of Henry Fielding is my hero now, and Sophia is a darling. Middlemarch characters of George Eliot are adorable and Dorothy is a sweetheart. I am in my prime like the Miss Broadie character from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. And I wonder how Jean got her ideas from. Heart of darkness was utterly dark and now I despise racism more and more. In short, I loved the novels.

Shakespeare is one of the greatest dramatists in the world. You may have read this several times. Why is he called so? I wanted to find out for a long time. I read two of his dramas Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet from the syllabus. Again I have to take the help of a dictionary and have to read sentences again. Midsummer's is a light comedy that I absolutely loved. Hamlet is a tragedy that was above my head. Anyway just by reading two dramas one can not know why Shakespeare is the greatest dramatist. I have resolved to read Shakespeare further. Thankfully, his classics are freely available on Kindle. 

Shaw's Pygmalion was an absolute pleasure. Feminist Eliza took my heart away. I have preserved Dialogues in Pygmalion in e-note. You may have watched the movie, My Fair Lady based on Pygmalion. Waiting for Godot is an abstract play. Difficult to comprehend the play in one reading. It was a great hit in its times because of the fresh format of the play. It is an open-ended play with a lot of abstract thoughts and actions. Little amusing and little boring as well. Mostly I disliked other plays in the syllabus. I didn't find any humor in the Irish comedy Playboy of the western world. Christopher Marlowe’s play Dr. Faustus I couldn't read entirely.  

3 optional subjects were to be chosen in the second year. Literary criticism was the only compulsory subject. Literary criticism is difficult , but important subject. I couldn't give much justice to it. I am still clueless about what I learned there. Maybe a critical evaluation of a literary text is a skill and it needs systematic study and clarity of thoughts to critically appreciate texts.

I chose Indian English Literature, English Studies in India and Contemporary Indian Literature in English translation. English studies in India was all about the spread of English in India, pre-independence and post-independence.  I loved poems in Indian English from the other  2 subjects. K Vimala's poem Kitchen is a radical poem with fresh perspectives on the kitchen in an Indian family. Must read for all women. Kamala Das's poem Grandmother's House is very touching which reminds me of the love and care I received from my own Grandmother. There are many poems worth noting which I have stored in e-notes. I didn't get time to read the entire texts (dramas and novels) from Indian English. I just read summaries and texts from the study material. But I read short stories which I loved.

In this process, I missed out reading American English Literature which I would like to go through if I get time.

Coming back to India, I appeared for exams again in Dec 2019. Tried to write the best answers.  

Year 2020. I cleared the MA English exam and got a provisional degree certificate!

This was a long journey of three years. I do not claim to be a master in English Literature nor am I a master in English Language usage. My vocabulary is still poor and grammar still a mess. What I studied was a tiny dot on a full circle. The degree may not be of any value. But reading English literature gave me something to cherish for a long time. It enriched my soul and also gave me a sense of fulfillment to achieve a goal.

Looking for a perfect time to earn a degree in Marathi Literature ;-) 

Just ONE way to motivate your child to read

Just one way to motivate your child to read...!

I have discussed with many why their children are better readers. And I found one strategy which definitely motivates children to read. I am happy to share this strategy with you. Before that let's see why reading is important.

The best gift you can give your children is to make them good readers. 

Why? 

• It makes them better human beings. 
• They perform well academically. 
• They have a better understanding of the world and various things. 

Children (and most of the adults) are reluctant to read. The reasons can be many. First and foremost is the distraction of digital media like TV, Laptops, Mobiles, etc. They are necessary to keep in touch with the outside world. But your inner world gets nourished in a better way through books. So, make your child a better reader!

But, children are reluctant to read. And they should be.!!!  If not, they are super kids! Follow this tried and tested one piece of advice. Just one way to motivate your child to read...!

SPARE 15 MINUTES EVERYDAY AT BEDTIME TO READ WITH YOUR CHILD...

Image by 2081671 from Pixabay 

Yes... This is not a new way to inculcate reading habits. But you do it with conviction and persuasion, your child will be life long reader.

In early childhood when a child's attention span is less, you can just read one small story for 5-10 minutes. Gradually increase the time. You can go through storytelling classes on a professional level if you wish. Read to your child in an entertaining manner. 

When a child is ready to read, make ample amounts of books available. If he is reluctant to read, follow an earlier note to read to him.

Gift him book sets rather than separate books. This motivates them to read. We gifted our daughter a set of 50 books (Read with Ladybird series). She devoured them within 15 days! She still reads them once in a while.

So, follow just one way to motivate your child to read!

Read with your child every day at bedtime for 15 minutes till he becomes a super reader!

10 Education Quotes for learners

Here are 10 education quotes for learners. You may think about your own journey of education to understand its meaning.

1. Education fails when one fails to stand up for oneself.
2. Education has an intrinsic value which strengthens the inner core while nourishing the soul.
3. Education is not a piece of paper. Only you can understand its value.
4. Education is the only medium through which you can know the world.
5. Keep on educating yourself with the ways of the world and beyond. You never know the transformation taking place within you.
6. True education teaches you empathy, makes you inquisitive, hones you to take up the challenges and builds resilience.
7. An educational degree is a mirror for yourself which shows you know some things and you can utilize those things for the betterment of yourself and others.
8. You do not educate yourself for pleasing others. You educate yourself for your own personal growth.
9. Rot memorization is not education, clearing an exam is not education. But an understanding of the subject and knowing that you know the subject means you got some kind of education.
10. The beauty of education is that it makes you beautiful from inside not just outside.

If you like to discuss these quotes on education, please leave a comment. If you want to add your own quotes on education, please share.

Image by David Schwarzenberg from Pixabay